Why Did You Die, Mrs. Adams?

Book excerpt: Why Did You Die Mrs. Adams? is an intriguing coming-of-age novel following Samantha, a high school junior trying to navigate the typical trials of being a teenager. Samantha’s mother pines for a lost love, and she has no father present to lean on. Due to her mother’s lack of emotion, Sam hasn’t gotten the attention she’s wanted her whole life. Thankfully, her Gram and her Uncle Jeff are the only family she needs. Intense trauma strikes when, in one week, she experiences the deaths of her mother and Mrs. Adams, a nearby neighbor friend. Her grief morphs into anger and curiosity when she becomes consumed by the need to solve these two mysterious deaths. After frustrating her family, Sam enlists her friends Lois and Josh to outwit an alleged killer. Between the three of them, they are determined to solve crimes that Sam has magnified in her mind. Murder isn’t the only mystery, though. Sam also seeks the father she has never met, wondering if he’s out there somewhere. Intrigue abounds, as Sam becomes an obsessed investigator, all while fighting her grief and managing her own demons. Who is the killer, and will Sam be saved or shattered by the discovery?